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Faculty at Kaplan University School of Business & IT Assess Jobs Outlook and Career Progress in Today’s Workforce

Feb. 29, 2016

Report also provides advice on optimal degrees to obtain and top resume tips.

DAVENPORT, IA – (February 29, 2016) – Cybersecurity offers the most job prospects for IT graduates. Master’s degrees are a “must” in the financial services sector. And, there are certain buzz words that can devalue a résumé. These are some takeaways of the Kaplan University School of Business and Information Technology (IT) survey.

The school’s nationwide business and IT faculty were polled in August to keep a pulse on factors influencing employment for current students and graduates. The survey follows up on a similar one conducted in 2013, which included a mix of touchstone questions to compare the current state of job prospects from a few years ago, along with the importance for competency-based education and ways to track career progress. Its purpose was to solicit insight and advice from faculty, many of whom continue to be engaged in the workforce, to help direct students on their academic and professional preparation in pursuing employment or further career development.

“A combination of globalization and innovation make business and IT two of the most dynamic workforce sectors today,” said Thomas Boyd, Ph.D., dean of the School of Business and IT. “The ever-changing challenges and opportunities in these sectors prompted us to revisit perspectives about current career outlooks and the key steps students should consider to maximize their career choices.”

Key survey findings include the following:

Best career prospects for IT graduates: Job opportunities for IT graduates in the tech-based sector are greatest in Cybersecurity (58%) followed by Information Security/Forensics (40%) and Mobile Computing (11%). For industries outside of the tech sector, respondents overwhelmingly identified Health Care (75%) as the top industry for IT job prospects, followed by Science/Biotechnology (30%) and Government (23%).

Best job prospects for Business graduates: Jobs in Finance (37%), Accounting (30%) and Marketing (29%) once again came out on top from a list of 11 occupations.

Optimal degree level for specific careers: The majority of respondents indicated that a master’s degree is generally required to optimize career potential in the disciplines of Accounting, Financial Planning, Investment and Wealth Management, and IT. A bachelor’s degree is often sufficient for careers in Real Estate and Risk Management/Insurance sectors.

Refraining on résumés: There comes a point when trend words turn tired, especially on résumés. Faculty respondents identified “Outside the box” as the top “buzz” phrase both business and IT candidates should refrain from invoking when applying for a job. Other phrases they suggested staying away from include:

Business candidates: “People person” and “Team player”

IT candidates: “Detail oriented” and “Results driven”

Benchmarking career progress: Across the board, the top three ways to track career advancement were relatively equal: Leadership Achievements (39%), “Rainmaker”/Business Generation Success (37%) and Professional Certifications (36%). However, when the responses were broken down by faculty disciplines, the top benchmarking methods were identified as: Leadership Achievements (45%) for business graduates and Professional Certifications (42%) for IT graduates.

Kaplan University offers a different school of thought for higher education. It strives to help adult students unlock their talent by providing a practical, student-centered education that prepares them for careers in some of the fastest-growing industries. The University, which has its main campus in Davenport, Iowa, and its headquarters in Chicago, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Kaplan University serves approximately 43,000 online and campus-based students. The University has 14 campuses in Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, Missouri and Wisconsin, and a Kaplan University Learning Center in Maryland.

Kaplan University is part of Kaplan Higher Education LLC and Kaplan, Inc., which serves over 1.2 million students globally each year through its array of higher education, test preparation, professional education, English-language training, university preparation, and K-12 offerings to individuals, institutions, and businesses. Kaplan has operations in over 30 countries, employs more than 19,000 full- and part-time professionals, and maintains relationships and partnerships with more than 1,000 school districts, colleges, and universities, and over 2,600 corporations and businesses.

Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its largest division. For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.